Chanukah menorah lit in downtown Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. - Chanukah, the Jewish holiday known as the festival of lights, begins at sundown on Wednesday, Dec. 25.

Chabad, a Tampa temple, marked the first night of the holiday by hosting a public lighting of the Chanukah menorah in downtown Tampa from the Tampa City Hall Plaza at 315 EW Kennedy Blvd.

The event, which featured music, games, and food began around 5:30 p.m. and ended around 7:30 p.m.

Chanukah is an eight-day holiday, and candles are lit on a customary Chanukah menorah to commemorate each night.

The holiday of Chanukah celebrates the re-dedication of the Jewish Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E after a small Jewish army reclaimed it from a Syrian-Greek army.

Once they rededicated the Temple, the Jews found only enough pure oil to light the Temple's menorah candelabra for one day, but it lasted for eight days.

2024’s Chanukah will run through Thursday, Jan. 2.

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